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National Geographic On Disney+?

After Bob Iger recently revealed the first details on Disney’s new streaming service, Disney+, it was very apparent that the upcoming purchase of 21st Century Fox is going to have an impact on what content is available on Disney+.

Especially when it comes to the National Geographic brand, since the logo is standing alongside other major Disney brands including Marvel, Star Wars and Pixar. Which caught many Disney and National Geographic fans unaware, since many fans weren’t aware that National Geographic was owned by Fox (75%) and would become a part of the Disney empire.

Seeing the banner on the official Disney+ website, it’s pretty obvious that the National Geographic brand is going to be a major part of Disney+, which makes sense, since its a family friendly and has a huge back catalog of shows including Mars: Inside Space X, Air Crash Investigation, Brain Games, Wicked Tuna, Mars and many more.

With a history of over 130 years, the National Geographic brand is well established and under Disney, things are going to change, but with Disney comes larger opportunities, allowing the brand to expand into consumer products, travel, shows and much more.

Disney+ is a good opportunity for National Geographic, its going to be standing toe to toe with the biggest Disney brands, meaning more people watching their content. And with a strong focus on the environment, people and nature, this will help spread the work that National Geographic has been saying for over a hundred years.

However not everything National Geographic has made is 100% family friend, shows like “Nazi Megastructures” might just be left in a vault, or even moved over to Hulu.

Currently National Geographic content is available on a wide selection of different streaming platforms in different countries including Netflix, NowTV, Rogers and on Fox’s own streaming app. There is even a National Geographic+ running in some countries.

As licenses expire, expect to see less National Geographic content available on other platforms, similar to how Disney is doing with its own contracts and content. Currently there are over 30 titles available on Netflix, covering nature, social documentaries and historical documentaries. Those titles had previously been up for renewal in February, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see these shows leave Netflix in February 2019. And shows on the UK streaming network, NOWTV also expire within a couple of months.

And Disney will want to streamline all of the different apps once Fox comes under their control properly. It might take a while, but National Geographic will be a massive part of Disney+, as it has shows aimed at children, families and adults. Meaning it increases value for subscribers, as this is very different content from everything else, showing that the Disney+ package is more than just Disney movies and Disney Channel kids shows.

In the short term, we might see a little less National Geographic content on our screens after the Fox purchase is complete, but once Disney+ launches, I’m sure fans will be very happy with this content.